West Mercia & Warwicks FLO making it up as they go along?

[saddler]

Just spotted the following link on PW

http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/10518 ... announced/

Medical reports to be submitted with the Home Office application forms!
Telephone interviews?

Anyone on the site have direct knowledge of the changes?

[Sandgroper]

From West Mercia Police http://www.westmercia.police.uk/applyin ... cence.html

1. Licence holders are now responsible for their own renewals and must allow adequate time (we recommend eight weeks) to apply for a licence - you will not receive notification that your license is about the expire.

2. Forms can be downloaded on the link below or are available from a number of police stations - please check with the Firearms and Explosives Licensing Unit.

3. If you have a relevant medical condition, you must obtain a medical report from your General Practitioner outlining the condition (see below).

Declaration of Medical Conditions

Having a medical condition of any kind does not preclude you from possessing a firearm. However any physical or mental condition that may affect your ability to possess and use firearms safely should be declared. This includes, for example, mental health disorder, epilepsy, diabetes, stroke, stress related illness, depression, alcoholism, substance use or dependency, heart disease, cancer. This list is not definitive.

The Chief Officer of Police has a statutory responsibility to ensure that anyone who possesses a firearm will not be a danger to public safety or to the peace.

Therefore if you have a relevant medical condition, you must obtain a medical report from your General Practitioner outlining the condition (declared in boxes 15 & 16 of the application form) and the medication or treatment you received or are receiving now.

Please allow time for obtaining a medical report when pulling together your renewal documentation. The original report signed by the doctor (not a copy) must be included with your renewal application.

Warwickshire and West Mercia Police will no longer request or pay the costs for medical reports. Therefore, any cost incurred must be agreed and settled between you and your General Practitioner.

[waterford103]

Is this even legal ? I am not aware of any change in the law !

[ukrifleman]

As form 101 already requires you to sign, to allow the police to contact your doctor for details of your medical history; it looks likes they are after saving the cost of a phone call or stamp!
ukrifleman.

[phaedra1106]

Strange how nothing has been heard from BASC or the NRA etc. given this was announced 11 days ago.

[Chapuis]

BASC has been through all this before with several police forces and reminded them that any payment for medical reports should be met by the police not the applicant I don't know about the NRA but would give them the benefit of the doubt. Just because the shooting organisations haven't jumped in and made huge public statements about it immediately doesn't mean that they aren't aware of such statements from some forces or that they aren't challenging them immediately if wrong. Often they will be in communication with these forces as soon as they are notified of it but it will be low key and not in a blaze of publicity.

[phaedra1106]

I wasn't having a go at them, just a bit surprised that nothing has been mentioned, when my local force (Durham) started including medical declaration forms with renewals/grants David from BASC was very active on the PW forum advising shooters not to fill in or return the forms.

[Chapuis]

Phaedra I think they try the soft approach first, trying to work with the various forces rather than the confrontational approach that some shooters seem to think they should adopt. After all very often "misunderstandings" can often be put right quickly and easily with the right approach and longer term co-operation and understanding results.

[Mr_Logic]

Until such time as this is changed in law, they can't do that, so if I was an afflicted party, I'd be (a) talking to BASC pronto and (b) telling them where they can stick that!

[phaedra1106]

I was only curious as (as I said) when Durham started trying this David from BASC was straight on to it on the PW forums and advising us not to fill in or return the medical forms.